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The need to prepare a skilled and motivated STEM workforce who can meet the demands of a dynamic and complex global economy is a widely recognized national challenge. This project, a cross-institutional collaboration among North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and Davidson College, capitalizes on advances in technology to respond to that challenge by providing evidence on effective ways to prepare pre-service elementary school teachers, key players in the development of our STEM professional workforce. The enhancement of foundational physics
concepts using haptically-enabled science simulations (HESSs) is the project’s focus.
Haptics is an umbrella term for the sense of touch (in this case virtual touch). The HESSs are virtual representations of real-world systems, displayed visually, and augmented with haptic force-feedback. Users can physically interact with multiple (often invisible) components of the modeled system (in this case) forces.
Building upon prior work involving HESSs, this project will work with undergraduate pre-service elementary school teachers to examine implications for the use of HESSs during their preparation. The project team will examine pre-service elementary school teachers’ understandings of forces as interactions (a foundational concept in physics) and the influence of haptic force-feedback technology. The project adopts an embodied cognition perspective in the design, building, and testing of its intervention. It uses a mixed-methods approach to examine the interfaces between teaching and learning and the mediation of STEM learning through fundamental use-inspired research. The design, develop, and testing research cycle will include focus groups, usability testing, and small-scale pilot testing.
This project is funded by the EHR Core Research (ECR) program, which supports fundamental research in STEM education. It provides funding in critical research areas that are essential, broad and enduring. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1760831